2. Causes:
• Lack of Industrialization: Rural Society (Bad
living conditions)
• Few Industries: very bad working and living
conditions.
• Lack of a Representative System: Ancient
Regime. The tsar was an absolute monarch.
No Parliament (Duma)
3. Revolution of 1905
• The revolution started because Russia was
defeated by Japan in the war of 1905.
• It is the first time that the Soviets appeared.
• The revolution didn’t succeed.
• But the tsar gave to the people a Duma
(Parliament).
4. 1914
• Russia takes part in WWI, with the France and
England.
• Russia is not prepared for this war and a lot of
people is going to die in this war.
• Russia is going to lose a lot of territories
(Poland, Finland, Ukraine, Baltic Republics…)
5. 1917: February Revolution
• It is a Moderate Revolution.
• It is going to succeed thanks to the
involvement of all the social classes (working
classes, peasants, women, soldiers, soviets…)
• But it is going to be controlled by the
moderates (Liberal politicians)
• Liberal System
• They had to stop two attempts of coups d’état
• They kept Russia in the war. (Decision widely
rejected by the lower classes)
6. 1917 - continued
• Lenin came from the exile, helped by the
Germans.
• He was the leader of the Bolsheviks.
• He promised all the power for the Soviets,
land for the peasants and to abandon the war.
7. 1917: October Revolution
• With the help of Trotsky and a special and well
trained military unit the Revolution was a
success.
• Lenin kept his promise and abandoned WWI.
• He signed a peace treaty with Germany and
had to give Poland, Finland, Ukraine, and the
Baltic Republics.
• A Civil War started White Russians against
the Red Russians. Trotsky created the Red
Army, who won the civil war.
8. USSR: Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics
• They created the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republic and gave this new name to the
nation.
• They created the Communist Party that is
going to have and important influence all
around the world.
• They also created “The Communist
International”
9. Communist System
• The Communist System is established.
• It’s the opposite system to Capitalism
(exploitation of the proletariat by the factory
owners).
• All the production, industrial and agricultural
will be controlled by the Soviets and the
profits will be distributed fairly by the state.
• The state monopolized all the raw materials,
resources and factories of the country; and
was the only one who could exploit them.
10. Consequences
• All the proletariat all around the world is willing
to copy this revolution.
• All the countries want to stop the spreading of
the communist ideas, so they isolate the USSR.
• Lenin will die in 1924 and the next leader will
be Stalin. He created a cruel and repressive
system, killing many opponents and also many
civilians. (It’s estimated that 1,2 million of
people died because of this repression).
11. Communism in China
• In 1912 China is a Republic. (The emperor
abdicated).
• New political part: the Kuomintang (1912)(a
nationalist party)
• In 1921 the Communist party is created by Mao
Zedong and fights against the Kuomintang in a
civil war that starts in 1927.
• During WWII both parties united in order to fight
against the Japanese invasion, but after WWII the
disputes will start again.
• Finally the Communist party will win this civil
war.
